The mystical allure of gold has fascinated humanity since before antiquity. As early as the Bronze Age, simple jewelry was being fashioned out of this glittering precious metal. Later civilizations produced fantastically elaborate pieces crafted from gold, items of rare beauty that today are simply priceless.

Browse the gallery and unearth a treasure trove of some of the world's most incredible gold artifacts.

Staffordshire Hoard - The Staffordshire Hoard is the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork yet found. Unearthed in the UK, the vast treasure trove included this gold sword hilt fitting with cloisonné garnet inlay. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY 2.0)

Sicán beaker gold cups - This fine set of Sicán culture beaker figure gold cups was found in Lambayeque, Peru. Archaeologists have dated them back to the 9th–11th centuries CE. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY 2.0)

Golden Pectoral (detail) - It's known as the Golden Pectoral, and it's dated to the second half of the 4th century BCE. It's a testament to Greek workmanship, and the central lower tier shows three horses, each being torn apart by two griffins. (Photo: Wikimedia/FAL 1.3)

Hyrcanian Golden Cup - Named after a historical region in Iran, the cup was excavated near modern-day Kalardasht, in the Mazandaran province. The piece dates back to the early 1st century CE. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 3.0)

Tairona figure pendant - Made by the Tairona people of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in north Colombia, this carefully crafted ornament dates back to the 10–16th centuries BCE. (Photo: Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0)

Gold stater - Gold 20-stater of the Greco-Bactrian king Eucratides I (175–150 BCE), the largest gold coin ever minted in antiquity. The coin weighs 169.2 g (5.97 oz), and has a diameter of 58 mm (2.3 in).

Lambayeque funerary mask - The Sicán culture, also known as Lambayeque culture, that inhabited what is now the north coast of Peru between 750 and 1375 CE was celebrated for its iconography, commonly represented by a mask face and upturned eyes. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 2.0)

Trundholm sun chariot - This outstanding Nordic Bronze Age artifact was discovered in Denmark in 1902. A thin sheet of gold decorates one side of the bronze disk being pulled by a horse. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 3.0)

Oxus Treasure - The fabulous collection of 180 pieces of metalwork in gold and silver known as the Oxus Treasure was unearthed near the Oxus river. The pieces date back to the Achaemenid Persian period. (Photo: Flickr/CC BY 2.0)

The 1933 double eagle - Of the 445,500 specimens of the 1933 Saint Gaudens double eagle that were minted, only 13 still exist, making this United States 20-dollar gold coin one of the world's rarest coins.

Tillya Tepe Hoard - The northern Afghanistan archaeological site of Tillya Tepe has yielded a wealth of priceless artifacts dated to around the 1st century BCE. Treasures include this intricate piece depicting Greek soldiers in armor. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 3.0)

Muisca raft - Sometimes referred to as the El Dorado Raft, this exquisite artifact was made anywhere between 600 and 1600 CE by the Muisca, an indigenous pre-Columbian group of peoples. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 1.0)

Voyager Golden Records - The Voyager Golden Records are two phonograph records included aboard the Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977. The records, a time capsule of sorts, contain sounds and images that scientists hope will one day be intercepted by an intelligent extraterrestrial life form.

The world's most incredible historic gold artifacts

Glittering treasures unearthed over the centuries

The mystical allure of gold has fascinated humanity since before antiquity. As early as the Bronze Age, simple jewelry was being fashioned out of this glittering precious metal. Later civilizations produced fantastically elaborate pieces crafted from gold, items of rare beauty that today are simply priceless.

Browse the gallery and unearth a treasure trove of some of the world's most incredible gold artifacts.